Voice Providing Device and Voice Providing Method

ABSTRACT

A voice providing method includes obtaining position information from a voice reproducing device, and performing processing, in a case in which a first position of obtained position information and a second position of a virtual talker are in a predetermined relationship, to cause the voice reproducing device to reproduce voice for the virtual talker to have a dialogue with a user with content according to the user.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/JP2018/011554, which was filed on Mar. 22, 2018 based on JapanesePatent Application (No. 2017-077348) filed on Apr. 10, 2017, thecontents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

A preferred embodiment of the present invention relates to a technologyfor providing voice to a user.

2. Description of the Related Art

A technology to provide a user with information corresponding to theposition of the user has been known. For example, Japanese UnexaminedPatent Application Publication No. 2001-238266 discloses that, when anadvertisement of a facility or a store is distributed, information to bedistributed is switched according to a distance between the facility orthe store and a mobile terminal carried by a user.

A voice providing method according to a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention includes obtaining position information from a voicereproducing device, and performing processing, in a case in which afirst position of obtained position information and a second position ofa virtual talker are in a predetermined relationship, to cause the voicereproducing device to reproduce voice for the virtual talker to have adialogue with a user with content according to the user.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an entire configuration of a voice providingsystem according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a voicereproducing device in the voice providing system.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a voiceproviding device in the voice providing system.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a position DB stored in thevoice providing device.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of eachdevice in the voice providing system.

FIG. 6 is a flow chart showing an operation of the voice providingdevice.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a positionalrelationship of a user and a virtual talker.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An object of a preferred embodiment of the present invention is not tomerely provide information in a conventional manner but is to achievecommunication by voice between a virtual talker such as a character ofan amusement facility, for example, and a user.

A voice providing method according to a preferred embodiment of thepresent invention includes obtaining position information from a voicereproducing device, and performing processing, in a case in which afirst position of obtained position information and a second position ofa virtual talker are in a predetermined relationship, to cause the voicereproducing device to reproduce voice for the virtual talker to have adialogue with a user with content according to the user.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention,communication by voice between a virtual talker and a user is able to beachieved.

The performing may include performing processing to cause the voicereproducing device to reproduce, along with reproduction of the voice, apredetermined sound field according to a relationship between the firstposition and the second position.

The performing may include performing processing to reproduce the voicein a case in which the first position and the second position are withina predetermined range.

The performing may include performing processing to reproduce the voicein a case in which the first position and the second position are withina range of a predetermined distance and the position of the virtualtalker is present in a direction to which the user faces.

The performing may include performing processing to change the contentof the voice according to a distance between the first position and thesecond position.

The performing may include performing processing to reproduce the voicefor the virtual talker to have a dialogue with the user with contentaccording to an attribute, behavior, biological information, or feelingof the user.

The voice providing method may include updating the second position.

The updating may include updating the second position according tocongestion status of each area.

The updating may include updating the second position according tostatus of service to be provided in each area.

The updating may include updating the second position according tomovement status of the user who is having a dialogue with the virtualtalker.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an entire configuration of a voice providingsystem being a preferred embodiment of the present invention. The voiceproviding system is provided in an area of a facility such as anamusement park, a play facility, an amusement facility, a publicfacility, a commercial facility, or an event venue facility, forexample. In the voice providing system, an imaginary talker thatdialogues and communicates with a user is defined in an arbitraryposition in the area of a facility. The imaginary talker (hereinafterreferred to as a virtual talker) herein, in a case in which the voiceproviding system is provided in an amusement facility, for example, is afictional existence assumed as a talker that can have a dialogue with ahuman, such as a mascot or a character that symbolizes the amusementfacility. In a case in which the virtual talker is present within apredetermined range from the user, the voice of the virtual talker isprovided to the user. As a result, the user can feel as if the virtualtalker is present near the self, and further have a dialogue with thevirtual talker by issuing an utterance in person.

As shown in FIG. 1, the voice providing system includes a voiceproviding device 100 that provides voice, and a voice reproducing device200 that reproduces provided voice. A network 900 is a wired or wirelesscommunication network for performing data communication according to apredetermined telecommunication standard. The voice providing device 100and the voice reproducing device 200 are connected so as to communicatewith each other through the network 900, and exchange data via thisnetwork 900. It is to be noted that, although one voice providing device100 and one voice reproducing device 200 are shown in FIG. 1, aplurality of voice providing devices and voice reproducing devices maybe provided.

The voice reproducing device 200 is a wearable terminal that is used,for example, in a state of being attached to or carried by a user.Although the shape of the voice reproducing device 200 is arbitrary, theshape may be a glasses type, a hat type, a headband type, a headphonetype, an ear muff type, or a hair band type that is attached to the headof a user, for example; may be an earphone type, a pierced earring type,or an earring type that is attached to the ear of a user; may be anecklace type that is hung on the neck of a user; may be a watch type, awristband type, or an armband type that is attached to the wrist or armof a user; may be a brooch type, an emblem type, or a similar type thatis attached to the clothing or the like of a user; or may be a tablettype or a smartphone type that is carried by a user.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the voicereproducing device 200. The voice reproducing device 200 includes acontroller 21 that includes an arithmetic processing device such as aCPU (Central Processing Unit) and storage devices such as a ROM (ReadOnly Memory) and a RAM (Random Access Memory), for example; acommunicator 22 that includes an antenna and a communication circuit,for example, and performs wireless communication through the network900; a storage 23 that includes an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable andProgrammable ROM) or a flash memory, for example; a reproducer 24 thatincludes a speaker, reproduces audio data, and outputs voice; adirection detector 25 that includes a direction sensor or a gyro sensor,for example, and detects a direction (herein, the direction of the voicereproducing device 200 is assumed to be a direction to which the userfaces) to which the voice reproducing device 200 faces; a positioner 26that performs positioning using a GPS (Global Positioning System), forexample; and a UI (User Interface) 27 that includes an operatorincluding a physical controller such as a key or a touch sensor, forexample, and a display such as a liquid crystal panel or a liquidcrystal drive circuit, for example; and a sound collector 28 thatcollects voice from a microphone.

The storage 23, while storing a data group and a program group that thecontroller 21 uses, stores a plurality of pieces of voice data thatindicates the voice of a virtual talker, for example. The controller 21reads out voice data designated from the voice providing device 100through the communicator 22, from the storage 23, and reproduces thereadout voice data by the reproducer 24. In addition, the controller 21transmits voice data that indicates the voice of a user that has beencollected by the sound collector 28, to the voice providing device 100through the communicator 22. The voice providing device 100 designatesvoice data of the virtual talker corresponding to the voice data of thisuser to the voice reproducing device 200. The designated voice data isreproduced in the voice reproducing device 200. As a result, a two-waydialogue between the user and the virtual talker is achieved. It is tobe noted that communication between a user and a virtual talker may notnecessarily be limited to the two-way dialogue and may be a one-waydialogue from a virtual talker to a user, for example.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the voiceproviding device 100. The voice providing device 100 is a computer suchas a server machine, for example, and includes a controller 11, acommunicator 12, and a storage 13. The controller 11 includes anarithmetic device such as a CPU, and storage devices such as a ROM and aRAM. The CPU, by using the RAM as a work area and executing a programstored in the ROM or the storage 13, controls the operations of variousportions of the voice providing device 100. The communicator 12 isconnected to the network 900 and performs communication through thenetwork 900. The storage 13 is a storage device such as a hard disk, forexample, and stores a data group or a program group that the controller11 uses.

The storage 13, for example, stores a voice database (the database ishereinafter referred to as DB) including information (a voice ID toidentify the voice data stored in the voice reproducing device 200, forexample) relating to the voice data of a virtual talker or a voiceinteraction algorithm, and a position DB that manages the positions of auser and a virtual talker.

The voice interaction algorithm may be any algorithm as long as thealgorithm is for recognizing the voice of a user and responding to therecognition result with voice, and, for example, an algorithm using thehidden Markov model or the like is known as a voice recognitionalgorithm.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the position DB. In theposition DB, a user ID and a virtual talker ID being identificationinformation of each of a user and a virtual talker, and positioninformation that indicates a position of each of the user and thevirtual talker are associated with each other. The position information(a first position) of the user is notified from the voice reproducingdevice 200 to the voice providing device 100, and the position of theuser in the position DB is updated according to this notification. Theposition information (a second position) of the virtual talker may be afixed position and may be a position that changes with time. In a casein which a position changes, according to a predetermined positionchange algorithm, the position of the virtual talker in the position DBis updated. The position change algorithm, while being any algorithm,may be an algorithm to select at random an arbitrary position in an areain which the voice providing system is installed or may be an algorithmto move a position in a predetermined route determined in the area inwhich the voice providing system is installed, by a predetermineddistance, for example. The position change algorithm may be differentfor each virtual talker, and the position change algorithm of onevirtual talker may be switched according to conditions such as time anddate.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the voicereproducing device 200 and the voice providing device 100. A detector201 of the voice reproducing device 200 detects a position of a user anda direction to which the user faces. A sound collector 202 of the voicereproducing device 200 collects voice, and generates voice data. Anotifier 203 of the voice reproducing device 200 notifies the positionof a user and the direction to which the user faces that have beendetected by the detector 201 and the voice data that has been generatedby the sound collector 202, to the voice providing device 100.

An obtainer 101 of the voice providing device 100 obtains the positionof a user, the direction to which the user faces, and the voice datathat have been notified from the notifier 203 of the voice reproducingdevice 200. A storage 102 of the voice providing device 100 stores thevoice DB and the position DB described above. An updater 103 updatesmemory content (the content of the position DB, in particular) of thestorage 102. A provider 104 of the voice providing device 100, in a casein which at least one of a position of a user and a position of avirtual talker is in a predetermined relationship, performs processingfor providing the user with voice for the virtual talker to have adialogue with the user with content according to the user. In thepresent preferred embodiment, the provider 104, in a case in which theposition of a virtual talker is included within a range of 45 degrees onboth sides of the direction to which the user faces, for example, and ina range in which a distance from the user is less than or equal to athreshold value, specifies appropriate voice data among the voice datagroup of the virtual talker based on the voice data of the user, andprovides the user with voice by designating the specified voice data tothe voice reproducing device 200. At this time, the provider 104designates voice reproduction with sound volume according to thedistance between the user and the virtual talker to the voicereproducing device 200.

A reproducer 204 of the voice reproducing device 200 reproduces thevoice data designated from the voice providing device 100 with thedesignated sound volume, and outputs voice. The user listens to thevoice to be reproduced from the voice reproducing device 200.

The detector 201 of the above described voice reproducing device 200 isachieved by the direction detector 25 and the positioner 26 shown inFIG. 2, the sound collector 202 is achieved by the sound collector 28,the notifier 203 is achieved by the communicator 22 shown in FIG. 2, andthe reproducer 204 is achieved by the reproducer 24 shown in FIG. 2. Theobtainer 101 of the voice providing device 100 is achieved by thecommunicator 12 shown in FIG. 3, the storage 102 is achieved by thestorage 13 shown in FIG. 3, the updater 103 is achieved by thecontroller 11 shown in FIG. 3, and the provider 104 is achieved by thecontroller 11 and the communicator 12 shown in FIG. 3.

Operation

Next, the operation of the present preferred embodiment will bedescribed with reference to FIG. 6. First, a user operates the voicereproducing device 200 and performs an operation for starting voiceproviding service. When the voice reproducing device 200 receives thisoperation, the sound collector 202 collects voice and generates voicedata (Step S11). In this Step, in a case in which the user issues anutterance, the voice of the user is collected, and, in a case in whichthe user does not issue an utterance in particular, environmental soundsuch as background music, for example, is collected.

Subsequently, the detector 201 of the voice reproducing device 200detects a position of the user and a direction to which the user faces(Step S12). As stated above, the position of the user herein is aposition of the voice reproducing device 200, and the direction to whichthe user faces is a direction that the voice reproducing device 200faces. The notifier 203 of the voice reproducing device 200 notifies thevoice providing device 100 of the position of the user and the directionto which the user faces, and the voice data generated from collectedvoice, together with a user ID (Step S13). This user ID may bepreviously stored in the storage 23 or may be inputted to the voicereproducing device 200 when the user starts this voice providingservice.

The obtainer 101 of the voice providing device 100 obtains the positionof the user, the direction to which the user faces, the user ID, and thevoice data that have been notified from the notifier 203 of the voicereproducing device 200. The provider 104, by referring to the positionDB, extracts a virtual talker included in such a range that thepositional relationship with the user may be in a predeterminedpositional relationship (Step S14). More specifically, the provider 104determines whether or not the position of a virtual talker is includedwithin a range of 45 degrees on both sides of the direction to which theuser of the obtained user ID faces, for example, and in such a rangethat a distance from the user may be less than or equal to a thresholdvalue.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a positionalrelationship of a user and a virtual talker. In FIG. 7, the positions ofusers U1 and U2 and virtual talkers G1 to G5 are indicated on thetwo-dimensional plane, based on the content of the position DB.Directions D1 and D2 respectively indicate the directions to which theusers U1 and U2 face. The users U1 and U2 move freely in the area inwhich the voice providing system is installed. Therefore, the positionsand directions of the users U1 and U2 change irregularly. On the otherhand, the positions of the virtual talkers G1 to G5, as stated above,may be positions that are fixed regardless of time or may be positionsthat change with time based on the position change algorithm. Therefore,at a certain timing, the users U1 and U2 and the virtual talkers G1 toG5 may be close to each other by chance, and, at a different timing, theusers U1 and U2 and the virtual talkers G1 to G5 may be apart from eachother.

For example, when the user U1 faces a direction D1, the position of thevirtual talker G1 is included in a predetermined range (within a rangeof 45 degrees on both sides of a half line that indicates the directionD1 in FIG. 7) on the basis of a half line that indicates the directionD1. Accordingly, in such a case, the provider 104 determines that theposition of the virtual talker G1 is included in the range in which thepositional relationship with the user is in a predetermined positionalrelationship. On the other hand, when the user U2 faces a direction D2,for example, any of the positions of the virtual talkers is not includedin the predetermined range on the basis of the half line that indicatesthe direction D2. Accordingly, in such a case, the provider 104determines that no virtual talker is included in the range in which thepositional relationship with the user is in the predetermined positionalrelationship.

Returning to the description of FIG. 6, the provider 104 specifies thevoice data of the virtual talker that responds to the voice of the useraccording to the voice interaction algorithm based on the voice data ofthe user that has been obtained in Step S13 (Step S15). For example,when the obtained voice data is an utterance content of the user, suchas “Hello. Is there anyone?,” the voice data of the virtual talker toanswer to the question of the user, such as “Yeah, I am here. Hello,” isspecified. In addition, when the obtained voice data is environmentalsound such as background music, such voice data that the virtual talkermay actively issue an utterance such as “Hello, may I help you?” to theuser is specified.

Furthermore, the provider 104 calculates a distance between the positionof the user and the position of the virtual talker, and sets a soundvolume parameter of voice data to a value according to the distance. Forexample, the provider 104 performs a sound volume parameter setting toturn down the sound volume when the distance between the user and thevirtual talker is large and turn up the sound volume when the distancebetween the user and the virtual talker is small.

The provider 104 transmits a voice ID and sound volume parameter of thevoice data that has been specified in Step S15 to the voice reproducingdevice 200 through the network 900. As a result, the voice to bereproduced in the voice reproducing device 200 is designated (Step S16).

The reproducer 204 of the voice reproducing device 200 reads out thevoice data of the voice ID designated from the provider 104, from thestorage 23, and performs voice reproduction with the sound volumeaccording to the sound volume parameter designated from the provider 104(Step S17).

Hereinafter, the processing of the above Steps S11 to S17 is repeated,so that a two-way dialogue is made between the user and the virtualtalker. As a result, the user can feel as if a virtual talker is presentnear the self, and further can sensuously know the distance from theself to the virtual talker by the magnitude of the sound volume.

With the above described preferred embodiment, it is possible to achievenew information providing service in which the position and direction ofa user are associated with voice, that is, communication by voicebetween a virtual talker and a user. In addition, a voice providing side(an operator of an amusement facility, for example) can expect acustomer attraction effect of attracting the user to the facility byvoice provided to a user.

MODIFICATION EXAMPLES

The above described preferred embodiment is able to be modified asfollows. In addition, the following modification examples may becombined and implemented.

Modification Example 1

A sound field in which the position of a virtual talker is set as avoice source on the basis of a user, may be reproduced. Specifically,the voice reproducing device 200 mounts a plurality of speakers andtemporally delays timing to emit voice from each of the speakers, whichmakes it possible to achieve a sound field that enables sound imagelocalization of from which direction the voice of the virtual talker isheard. The provider 104 of the voice providing device 100 provides thevoice reproducing device 200 with a sound field parameter (specifically,delay time of the timing to emit voice from each speaker) for achievingthe sound image localization according to the positional relationshipbetween the user and the virtual talker. In other words, the provider104 performs processing for providing a sound field for performing soundemitting processing of the voice according to the relationship betweenthe position of the user and the position of the virtual talker,together with the voice of the virtual talker. In this manner, the usercan feel in which direction the virtual talker is present.

Modification Example 2

Although, in the preferred embodiment, voice has been provided to a userby being emitted from the voice reproducing device 200 that is attachedto each user or is carried by the user, a device to emit voice to a useris not limited to this example, and voice may be emitted to a user by avoice reproducing device such as a speaker placed in the area in whichthis voice providing system is installed, for example. Specifically, theabove described voice reproducing device including a speaker, and acommunication terminal that is attached to or carried by each user andhaving a function of the detector 201 are configured as separatedevices, and this voice reproducing device and the communicationterminal include a function of performing wireless data communicationmutually. The communication terminal detects the position and direction(that is, the position of a user and the direction to which the userfaces) of the self, and notifies the position and direction to a voicereproducing device (that is, a voice reproducing device near the user)with which the self is able to communicate. The voice reproducing devicetransmits the position and direction of the user that have been notifiedfrom the communication terminal, to the voice providing device 100. Thevoice providing device 100 specifies a virtual talker that is in apredetermined relationship with the position and direction of the user,and designates voice data for the virtual talker to have a dialogue withthe user, to the above described voice reproducing device. The voicereproducing device reproduces designated voice data.

Modification Example 3

In the preferred embodiment, the provider 104 of the voice providingdevice 100 has provided voice in the case in which a user and a virtualtalker are within a predetermined range and the virtual talker ispresent in the direction (the range of 45 degrees on both sides of thedirection to which the user faces, for example) to which the user faces.However, the direction to which the user faces is not necessarilyrequired as a condition to provide voice. In other words, the provider104 may perform processing for providing voice in the case in which thedistance between the position of a user and the position of a virtualtalker are in a predetermined relationship.

Modification Example 4

Although, in the preferred embodiment, the provider 104 has performedthe processing for providing voice for a virtual talker to have adialogue with a user with content according to the user, the “contentaccording to the user” herein means according to an utterance content ofthe user. This “content according to the user” may also include meaningsuch as an attribute, behavior, biological information, or feeling ofthe user, as described below.

The attribute of the user includes age, gender, interests, andpreference of the user, for example. In such a case, the storage 102 ofthe voice providing device 100 stores association between the user IDbeing identification information that identifies each user and anattribute group of the user. The attribute group of the user has beenregistered or declared in advance by the user. The provider 104specifies the voice data of the content according to the attribute ofthis user as voice data of a virtual talker. For example, when theinterests of the user are sports, a sports-related topic is used as atopic of a dialogue between the user and the virtual talker.

In addition, the behavior of a user includes a motion and movementhistory of a user. In such a case, the voice reproducing device 200, asa sensor to detect the behavior of a user, includes a microphone, anacceleration sensor, a gyroscope sensor, and a positioner. The provider104 specifies the voice of a virtual talker according to the movementhistory or motion of a user that are notified from the voice reproducingdevice 200.

As the movement history of a user, a position immediately before thevoice of a virtual talker is specified or a history of changes in theposition may be used, or a position in the past or changes (one hourbefore the voice of a virtual talker is specified or during the lastvisit to a facility, for example) in the position may be used. Forexample, in a case in which the position during the last visit to afacility is used, as the movement history in the previous entry to thefacility, for example, a history that means a state in which a userapproaches a boarding area of a roller coaster and then moves away fromthe boarding area without boarding the roller coaster is recorded, and,in the movement history during the entry to the facility this time, in acase in which the boarding of the roller coaster has been detected, theprovider 104 provides the user with voice of the virtual talker such as“you could not make it before, but you made it!” In addition, as abehavior, when such an action that a user may shake the head, forexample, is detected, the provider 104 provides the user with voice of avirtual talker, such as “do you have any trouble?”

In addition, the motion of a user includes any body motion of a user,such as a facial expression, body language, gesture, or action patternof a user, for example. For example, motion data that indicates themotion of a user is obtained in Step S13 of FIG. 6, and the provider 104specifies the voice data of a virtual talker to the user, based on themotion data in Step S15.

The biological information of a user includes body temperature, a pulse,perspiration, or brain waves of a user, for example. In such a case, thevoice reproducing device 200 includes a sensor to detect the biologicalinformation of a user. The provider 104 specifies the voice of a virtualtalker according to the biological information of a user that isnotified from the voice reproducing device 200. In addition, theprovider 104 may estimate feeling of a user based on the biologicalinformation and behavior of the user that are notified from the voicereproducing device 200, and may specify the voice of a virtual talkeraccording to the feeling.

Modification Example 5

In the preferred embodiment, although, as the position change algorithmof a virtual talker that the updater 103 uses, the algorithm to selectat random an arbitrary position in the area in which the voice providingsystem is installed or the algorithm to move a position in apredetermined route determined in the area in which the voice providingsystem is installed, by a predetermined distance are exemplified, thefollowing is also considered in addition to these algorithms.

For example, the updater 103 updates the position of a virtual talkeraccording to congestion status of each area, the congestion status beingspecified based on the number of visitors to a facility located in eacharea that is divided on a predetermined standard, for example. In a caseof an amusement facility, the congestion status of each area is greatlydifferent, depending on service status such as a popular attraction anda program. Then, the provider 104 employs a position change algorithm soas to detect the congestion degree of each area in the facility and toincrease an appearance probability of a virtual talker in an area inwhich the congestion degree is less than a threshold value. In thismanner, it becomes possible to guide a user to an area with lesscongestion, using the consciousness of the user who desires tocommunicate with a virtual talker.

In a case in which the congestion status of visitors to the facility isdetected by a camera or the like that images the inside of the facility,for example, the congestion status of facility visitors who carry thevoice reproducing device 200 and facility visitors who do not carry thevoice reproducing device 200 is able to be specified. In addition, in acase in which the congestion status of visitors to the facility isdetected based on results obtained by positioning by the positioner 26of each voice reproducing device 200, for example, the congestion statusof facility visitors who carry the voice reproducing device 200 is ableto be specified. The facility visitors to be detected for the congestionstatus may be either of the above facility visitors.

In addition, the updater 103 employs a position change algorithm so asto store a schedule (the position and time when service is provided) ofservice such as an attraction or a program that may be provided to aplurality of users, and to increase the appearance probability of avirtual talker in an area and time when such service may be provided. Inthis manner, it becomes possible to guide a user to an area in which theservice is provided, using the consciousness of the user who desires tocommunicate with a virtual talker.

In addition, even when there is no way to detect the congestion degreeof each area in the facility, the updater 103 may employ a positionchange algorithm so as to store a schedule of service such as anattraction or a program that may be provided to a plurality of users,and to increase the appearance probability of a virtual talker in anarea in which the congestion degree of each area to be estimated fromthe schedule is less than a threshold value. Even in this manner, itbecomes possible to guide a user to an area with less congestion, usingthe consciousness of the user who desires to communicate with a virtualtalker.

In addition, the updater 103, according to movement of a user who ishaving a dialogue with a virtual talker, updates the position of thevirtual talker. In other words, it is such an algorithm that the virtualtalker, following the movement of the user who has started a dialoguewith the virtual talker, may make the same position change as the user.In this manner, the user can feel like the virtual talker is having adialogue while walking together.

Modification Example 6

The provider 104, when specifying the voice data of a virtual talker,may perform processing not to specify the voice of one virtual talkerbut to specify the voice data of a plurality of virtual talkers in apredetermined relationship with the position of a user and to providethe user with all the data. In such a case, the provider 104, forexample, may change the voice of the voice data for each virtual talker,or may control the sound volume of each voice according to the distancebetween the position of the user and the position of the virtual talker.

Modification Example 7

The communication between a user and a virtual talker in the presentinvention is not limited to a two-way dialogue and may be a one-waydialogue.

Modification Example 8

In the preferred embodiment, although the provider 104 controls thesound volume of the voice data based on the distance between theposition of a virtual talker and the position of a user, the method ofcontrolling the sound volume is not limited to this method. For example,the provider 104 provides a user with voice of the sound volumecorresponding to the coincidence degree (proximity between the half linethat indicates the direction to which the user faces with the positionof the user as a starting point, and the position of a virtual talker,for example) between the direction to which the user faces on the basisof the position of the user, and the position of the virtual talker.

Furthermore, acoustic processing to change not only the sound volume ofthe voice data but also the tone and effect of the voice data or thelike, in short, an acoustic parameter of the voice data, may beperformed on the basis of the positional relationship between thevirtual talker and the user. For example, the provider 104 may reduce(so as to reduce only a low-frequency sound component in a case in whichthe distance is large, for example) the low frequency range by anequalizer according to the distance between the virtual talker and theuser, or varies (so as to increase the intensity of reverberation in acase in which the distance is large, for example) the intensity ofeffect such as delay or reverberation according to the distance betweenthe virtual talker and the user.

In addition, as the position of the virtual talker, in addition to aposition in the horizontal direction, a position in the height directionmay be used. In such a case, the provider 104 may perform the acousticprocessing on which the position of the virtual talker in the heightdirection has been reflected, to the voice data. The provider 104, in acase in which the position of the virtual talker is higher than theposition of the user, for example, may apply such an effect the voice ofthe virtual talker could be heard from above the user by processingusing a head-related transfer function (HRTF: Head-Related TransferFunction).

Modification Example 9

In the preferred embodiment, although the provider 104 controls thesound volume of the voice data based on the distance between theposition of a virtual talker and the position of a user, the content ofthe voice data may be changed. For example, the provider 104, in a casein which the position of the virtual talker is included within the rangeof 45 degrees on both sides of the direction to which the user faces andin the range in which the distance from the user is not less than afirst threshold value, for example, provides the voice data such as“Hey, over here;” in a case in which the position of the virtual talkeris included within the range of 45 degrees on the both sides of thedirection to which the user faces and in the range in which the distancefrom the user is more than a second threshold value and is less than thefirst threshold value, for example, provides the voice data such as“This way;” and, in a case in which the position of the virtual talkeris included within the range of 45 degrees on the both sides of thedirection to which the user faces and in the range in which the distancefrom the user is not more than the second threshold value, for example,provides the voice data such as “Hello.” In the preferred embodiment,the second threshold value is smaller than the first threshold value.

It is to be noted that the provider 104 may change both the sound volumeand content of voice data, based on the distance between the position ofa virtual talker and the position of a user.

Modification Example 10

In the preferred embodiment, although the direction detector 25 thatdetects a direction to which a user faces includes a direction sensorand a gyro sensor, the direction to which the user faces may be detectedby use of a beacon transmitter. Specifically, the direction detector 25may include a receiver that receives a signal from a previouslyinstalled beacon transmitter.

For example, a plurality of beacon transmitters are previously installedin different positions from each other, and the direction detector 25detects a direction to which the user faces by receiving a beacon signalfrom the plurality of beacon transmitters by the receiver, and using atechnique such as triangulation.

Alternatively, one beacon transmitter may be previously installed so asto guide a user to a predetermined range. In such a case, the directionof the beacon transmitter is detected by the beacon signal, and thedirection to which the user faces is detected, based on the direction ofthe beacon transmitter. A method of guiding a user to the predeterminedrange includes marking on the ground or providing a real or virtualwall, for example. The method of guiding a user is not limited to theabove, and only has to be able to guide a user to the predeterminedrange and restrict the position of the user in the predetermined range.In addition, the beacon transmitter or the receiver may be operated onlywhen a user enters the predetermined range.

Modification Example 11

The voice with which a user is provided is not limited to the voice thathas been previously stored in the storage 23 of the voice reproducingdevice 200 and may be stored in the storage 13 of the voice providingdevice 100. In such a case, the voice data may be provided from thevoice providing device 100 to the voice reproducing device 200 eachtime, for example, at a timing of executing Step S16 of FIG. 6. Inaddition, the provider 104, in addition to voice, may provide the voicereproducing device 200 with data (text data that describes in-facilityinformation about a position of the user or image data that indicates animage relevant to the position, for example) other than the voice aboutthe position of the user.

Modification Example 12

The block diagram of FIG. 5 used to describe the above preferredembodiment shows blocks of functional units. Each of these functionalblocks is achieved by arbitrarily combining hardware and/or software.Furthermore, each functional block is not particularly limited to how tobe achieved. In other words, each functional block may be achieved byone physically and/or logically combined device or may be achieved by aplurality of devices configured by two or more physically and/orlogically separated devices that are directly and/or indirectly (by wireand/or wirelessly, for example) connected. Accordingly, the voiceproviding device or the voice reproducing device according to thepresent invention is also able to be achieved by a device integrallyincluding all the respective functions described in the preferredembodiment or may be a system in which the functions of each device arefurther divided and mounted into a plurality of devices. In addition,the order of the steps of the processing described in the abovedescribed preferred embodiment may be changed as long as nocontradiction occurs. In the method described in the preferredembodiment, the elements of the respective steps are presented in anexemplary order, and the order is not limited to the presented specificorder.

The present invention is also able to be achieved in a form such as aninformation processing method performed by the voice providing device orthe voice reproducing device. In addition, the present invention is alsoable to be achieved in a form such as a program for causing a computerto function as the voice providing device or the voice reproducingdevice. Such a program is able to be provided in a form of beingrecorded in a recording medium such as an optical disc or provided in aform of being downloaded to a computer via a communication network suchas the internet and installed to make available.

The descriptions of the present preferred embodiments that have beendescribed above are illustrative in all points and should not beconstrued to limit the present invention. The scope of the presentinvention is shown not by the foregoing preferred embodiments but by thefollowing claims. Further, the scope of the present invention isintended to include all modifications within the scopes of the claimsand within the meanings and scopes of equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A voice providing device comprising: an obtainerto obtain position information from a voice reproducing device; and aprovider, in a case in which a first position of the positioninformation obtained by the obtainer and a second position of a virtualtalker are in a predetermined relationship, to perform processing tocause the voice reproducing device to reproduce voice for the virtualtalker to have a dialogue with a user with content according to theuser.
 2. The voice providing device according to claim 1, wherein theprovider causes the voice reproducing device to reproduce, along withreproduction of the voice, a predetermined sound field according to arelationship between the first position and the second position.
 3. Thevoice providing device according to claim 1, wherein the providerperforms processing to reproduce the voice in a case in which the firstposition and the second position are within a predetermined range. 4.The voice providing device according to claim 3, wherein the providerperforms processing to reproduce the voice in a case in which the firstposition and the second position are within a range of a predetermineddistance and the position of the virtual talker is present in adirection to which the user faces.
 5. The voice providing deviceaccording to claim 3, wherein the provider performs processing to changethe content of the voice according to a distance between the firstposition and the second position.
 6. The voice providing deviceaccording to claim 1, wherein the provider performs processing toreproduce the voice for the virtual talker to have a dialogue with theuser with content according to an attribute, behavior, biologicalinformation, or feeling of the user.
 7. The voice providing deviceaccording to claim 1, further comprising an updater to update the secondposition.
 8. The voice providing device according to claim 7, whereinthe updater updates the second position according to congestion statusof each area.
 9. The voice providing device according to claim 7,wherein the updater updates the second position according to status ofservice to be provided in each area.
 10. The voice providing deviceaccording to claim 7, wherein the updater updates the second positionaccording to movement status of the user who is having a dialogue withthe virtual talker.
 11. A voice providing method comprising: obtainingposition information from a voice reproducing device; and performingprocessing, in a case in which a first position of obtained positioninformation and a second position of a virtual talker are in apredetermined relationship, to cause the voice reproducing device toreproduce voice for the virtual talker to have a dialogue with a userwith content according to the user.
 12. The voice providing methodaccording to claim 11, wherein the performing includes performingprocessing to cause the voice reproducing device to reproduce, alongwith reproduction of the voice, a predetermined sound field according toa relationship between the first position and the second position. 13.The voice providing method according to claim 11, wherein the performingincludes performing processing to reproduce the voice in a case in whichthe first position and the second position are within a predeterminedrange.
 14. The voice providing method according to claim 13, wherein theprocessing includes performing processing to reproduce the voice in acase in which the first position and the second position are within arange of a predetermined distance and the position of the virtual talkeris present in a direction to which the user faces.
 15. The voiceproviding method according to claim 13, wherein the processing includesperforming processing to change the content of the voice according to adistance between the first position and the second position.
 16. Thevoice providing method according to claim 11, wherein the processingincludes performing processing to reproduce the voice for the virtualtalker to have a dialogue with the user with content according to anattribute, behavior, biological information, or feeling of the user. 17.The voice providing method according to claim 11, further comprisingupdating the second position.
 18. The voice providing method accordingto claim 17, wherein the updating includes updating the second positionaccording to congestion status of each area.
 19. The voice providingmethod according to claim 17, wherein the updating includes updating thesecond position according to status of service to be provided in eacharea.
 20. The voice providing method according to claim 17, wherein theupdating includes updating the second position according to movementstatus of the user who is having a dialogue with the virtual talker.